The closest competitor to the new Apple Watch Series 4 (in terms of general functionalities and price) is the Garmin Forerunner 645 with Music. You can see the head-to-head comparison of those two in this post here. If you were still wondering which one to go for, this sale price may just help you make up your mind!
Deal: Garmin Forerunner 645 with Music
Link: Garmin Forerunner 645 Deal – $380 (down from $449)
The Garmin Forerunner 645 just was released this year and comes in two models – one with music storage/playback($449) and one without ($399). This Garmin is the step up (and a really good step) from the Garmin Vivoactive 3 models in that it comes with special running metrics and other features. If you are a runner serious about digging into various stats and metrics, the Garmin Forerunner 645 would be for you.
When compared to the new Apple Watch Series 4, it has some similarities and it does perform as an adequate smartwatch with notifications and some two-way interaction. Of course, it does not have the app base and ability that the Apple Watch does but if you are mostly concerned about getting notifications, answering phone calls, etc, the Garmin Forerunner 645 will do that very nicely – with Apple and Android devices.
Pricing vs Apple Watch Series 4
The equivalent sized Apple Watch Series 4 (the 44mm) rings in at $429 without cellular capability. That means you would normally be looking at a $20 difference between the Garmin and Apple watches. For some reason, Amazon has a discount of $70 only on the Slate model (which, in my opinion, is the best looking one in the lineup). That puts the Garmin Forerunner 645 Music in slate color at a price that is $20 less than the model without music storage and playback and $50 less than the Apple Watch Series 4!
| Specification | Apple Watch Series 4 | Garmin Forerunner 645 Music |
|---|---|---|
| Battery Life | General Use: 18 Hours GPS Use: 6 Hours GPS w/Music: 5 Hours? | General Use: Up to 7 Days GPS Use: Up to 14 Hours GPS w/ Music: Up to 5 Hours |
| Music Storage | 16GB of storage | 3.5GB of storage |
| Water Resistant | Up to 50 Meters | Up to 50 Meters |
| Native Sleep Tracking | No | Yes |
| Built-in Heart Rate Monitor | Yes | Yes |
| Always-On Display | No | Yes |
| Multi-Sport Capability | Yes | Yes |
| Glass material | Ion-X Strengthened Glass | Chemically Strengthened Glass |
| Weight | 36.7 Grams | 42.2 Grams |
| Dimensions | 44 x 38 x 10.7 mm | 42.5 x 42.5 x 13.5 mm |
| Sensors | Optical heart sensor, electronic heart sensor, gyroscope, barometric altimeter, accelerometer | Optical heart sensor, barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, thermometer |
| GPS Technology | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and QZSS | GPS, GLONASS |
| Compatible with iOS and Android | No | Yes |
| Switchable watch bands | Yes | Yes (20mm bands) |
I am not sure how long this price will be here but if you wanted to pick one of these up, this is a great deal! You can sometimes get these cheaper with eBay discounts or running store discounts but this is the cheapest I have seen it without having to wait for a discount code.
